


S. S Omoros

by 2trangerMcDanger



Series: Space Solkat [4]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Adult Trolls (Homestuck), Alternate Universe - No Sburb Session, Angst, Caliginous Romance | Kismesis, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Helmstroll Sollux Captor, M/M, Sloppy Makeouts, Space AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:22:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26437876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2trangerMcDanger/pseuds/2trangerMcDanger
Summary: "Ya know," Sollux says to you, while wrapping his arms around your shoulders. You'd been settled for sleep for a few tens of minutes now, a long night of work behind you, and he had just joined you right as you were on the brink of passing out. "We just secured a lot of funding from our new allies." Had his face not been so close to your ear, you might not have heard him, the way his tired words all smeared together like chalk on a sidewalk.You take a deep sigh and shove yourself closer to him."You know what that means?""New starship." You can hear the smile in his voice, and feel it pressed against your back.
Relationships: Sollux Captor/Karkat Vantas
Series: Space Solkat [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1904998
Comments: 6
Kudos: 26





	1. A Lesson In Autonomy

Sollux underwent ordering the new starship. Personally. He'd been bitching about your current make for literal sweeps. _These's panels are so out of code, KK. This screen glitches when I try to open this window, KK. Pretty please can we just get a new ship, KK. It's a miracle this thing hasn't exploded and killed us all!_ On, and on and _on_.

Now that it was becoming a reality, there was no luxury spared. This was gonna be his passion project, his dream vessel, and he'd be damned to let anyone, even you, decide even the smallest detail for it. That didn't mean you didn't let him squee in delight when looking at the catalogs the engineers gave to him. It also didn't mean that he wasn't indecisive as fuck and sometimes needed your help with making up his fucking mind, and then getting mad at you for choosing the one he didn't like!

It took two long sweeps until the ship was finally done enough, and it was time to view the empty interior. You had to admit that everything was coming along nicely. The wall murals of bees in Sollux's private quarters, you could do without, considering you'd probably be there more time than you'd like to admit, but whatever.

When you'd finally gotten to the cockpit, the real pièce de résistance, Sollux's pride and joy, truly, you'd never seen him so happy. There was not a single square inch of it that you could really process or understand what was so special, but it made him shiver with delight. While your eyes were scanning across the piloting wing, there was one thing you absolutely recognized and understood.

When your eyes settle on what you can only assume is the newest model for a Helmschamber, your blood runs cold, and your hand instantaneously snatches up Sollux's hand protectively. "What the _fuck_ is that doing in here." The anger in your voice surprises even you. Sollux quickly pulls your hands up in both of his to comfort you. "Chill, chill, okay? I put it in, it was my decision."

"Was that supposed to help me accept this?? I want this thing gone, this is not up for debate." You throw Sollux's hands away in frustration. Maybe you're having a little bit of a tantrum, you're well within your right! He looks away from you for a second, giving an over-the-shoulder glance at the tour guide, "give us a minute, if you will." His tone is infuriatingly even and calm, and it makes your insides boil even more rapidly.

The guide leaves, without a second of hesitation and Sollux stays dead silent until the door behind him slides shut. "It's my ship, KK. I know what I'm doing. I'm getting the neuroport's installed next--"

"Solluxander Captor, you're doing _no such thing, are you **fucking** kidding me!" _You're starting to shout now. "There are no ports, no wires, no _nothing_ being injected into you! I cannot fucking _believe--"_

"You're blowing this out of proportion, it's for emergencies only. If you'd listen--"  
"No, fuck you. Like, actually fucking _fuck_ you, you're--AUGH, I can't even fucking look at you right now!!" The way Sollux's voice was so calm and stoic like he didn't even care about how upset this was making you. You start to frantically pace, throwing your arms up this way and that.

"Karkat." He sighs, and you turn around to see him rubbing his eye like he's tired. "Listen..."

"No, _you_ , listen. If this abomination isn't off my ship, by the move-in date, I'm ripping it out myself."

  
" _Your_ ship??" Sollux's eyebrows furrow and his mouth twisted into a snarl. There's some emotion.  
"Yes. _My_ ship. I'm the fucking captain. I get the final say on this shit."

There have been only a few times when Sollux was so mad, he sparked up, even fewer times when the static made his hair frizz. "With all due respect, _captain_ ," He spits the word out like it's poison. Oh no. "I don't give a _fuck_ what you say. It's staying, I'm _getting_ the operation. If you don't like it, you can get your own fucking starship and fly it into the closest fucking supernova _cause you can't pilot worth shit and you need_ _me._ _"_

"I'd rather burn to death like that than see you strung up and with a million fucking tubes through your body! Why can't you respect that this is something I literally have fucking nightmares about and terrifies me to my fucking core!?"  
"Because you're overreacting! Nothing bad will happen! Modern technology--"  
"What?? It can now clone your very pan-waves and keep it in a little jar so you can exist as both a massive hunk of metal _and_ a troll with a beating pumper!? Wow, I'm so fucking impressed, where's the waiver that says ' _may cause permanent pan damage and severe seizures'_ in tiny, tiny print so I can not read it and sign on the dotted line!"

Sollux throws his arms up, and turns around, "I can't talk to you when you're like this, I'm going."

"You're quitting because I have a point and you can't refute it. Helming is _dangerous_ and no amount of technological breakthroughs will make it _not_ dangerous."

  
Sollux whips around, fangs bared and eyes a-glowing. When he talks, sparks fly off him with every emphasis of any word. "I'm quitting because you're refusing to fucking listen to me! This is my body! I'm trying to use it for the good of the rebellion! I know my limits and I know what I'm doing! I would say this isn't fucking rocket science but it literally is, and you're out of your fucking _lane_ , Vantas." He gets in your face, your pumper is going a million miles a second

Once the thought crawled into your mind, it was over. You grab him by the collar and yank him forward, kissing him hard and intense. Not only does he reciprocate, he slams you up against the opposite wall, right on top of the control panel. The ship doesn't have a working battery in it yet (thinking that makes you shudder with even more rage) so luckily you're not making anything actually happen by butt-mashing all the switches and knobs.

Sollux's hands rip your shirt from it's tucked respite in your pants to claw and dig into your skin. They're coated in psi and it burns you everywhere it touches while his sharp fangs stab into your lip. He's scaring you, and you're letting him because it's thrilling. You don't let him take you, grabbing his horn tightly and yanking him back to expose his neck. You open your mouth and lunge forward to bite his neck, but he doesn't let you stay there, more psi prying your hands open and off him, as he forces them behind your back.

The two of you break for a second and he murmurs. "This doesn't change anything."  
"No. It doesn't." You agree, but for a differing reason, and he's back to kissing you, hard and mean and painful. 

One of his hands goes down the back of your pants, and grabs a handful of your ass, claws none too nicely digging and burning just like he did to your sides. Your arms strain against their invisible restraints and when he breaks from the kiss to bite harshly at your neck and collarbones, you huff out, "this isn't fucking fair."

"Who's the high level psionic, KK. I think we both need a refresher, 'cause I can't seem to recall." His voice is gravely, and deep in a way that you can't remember hearing before. He could take anything from you, and this is only emphasized by the way he palms between your legs and makes your half-hard bulge pulse against your pants. Your eyes roll back and you groan out in a mixture of frustration and pleasure.

Even though you both really want to, you can't pail in the unfinished future vessel before you even have the keys to it. You let him kiss and rut against you for another minute or so before it's time for you to be the adult (as usual, go figure) and speak up. "Okay, okay okay, enough. Get off of me." You don't sound happy about it, even swallowing a little lump in your throat to try and keep your voice from cracking.

Sollux makes this frustrated little huff that makes something in your brain go haywire but does let you go, backing away with this beautiful yellow blush on him. You really don't need to wonder what would have happened if you didn't intervene, do you?

Your legs are a little shaky when you slide off the control panel and put weight back on them. There's a very distinct sting on all the parts that Sollux scratched "If..." You sigh, running both your hands through your hair. You hadn't realized that a black makeout session was going to be the deciding factor in this, but it's now out of your control, isn't it? "I'll allow you...to keep the chamber and get the operation.... _if_ and _only_ if, you promise you'll never have to follow through with it and get plugged in."

With all the grace of Sollux Captor, he falls back into the bolted spinney chair in front of the controls, still getting his bearings obviously. "You know I can't make that promise." He opens his mouth to continue but must've thought better of it.

"I can't allow this to happen if you don't lie to me, Sollux." There's a large amount of defeat in your tone. You know you can't talk him out of this, and this promise is the only thing that will give you any sort of comfort. Sollux knows that.

He makes this face, shrugs, and holds his palms up to you as a show of surrender, maybe compromise. "I promise. When I get the operation, I won't helm." It's the lie to end all lies, and the worst part, it does nothing to comfort you.

The two of you don't talk on the way to your current home. And you don't talk when it's time to settle down. Neither of you has to say anything and just both seem to agree that you need time apart and retire to your separate cabins.

You don't sleep, you're sick with worry.


	2. Reckoning Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was going to happen eventually.

The S.S Omoros had been a beautiful ship that delivered what she promised: Improvement. There was really not a thing wrong with the way she ran, and several times on your journey, you'd forgotten you weren't on vacation.

And even though Sollux always made fun of you for personifying her, it felt right. You'd never really felt the need to carry that stupid tradition of calling ships 'she' until the Omoros. It felt like slipping your hands into perfectly tailored gloves.

She's a high-quality piece of machinery. When you say she can take a beating, you really really mean it. And when you say that you're currently confident that your situation is about to blow her into nothingness along with all her passengers, you mean that too.

Standing before, above, and also below you were three Empire battleships, The top, and bottom ships were holding you tightly with several hundred lengths of Space Harpoons. And the one in front of you was charging a massive death beam that was preparing to do exactly what you previously mentioned.

How does this kind of thing even happen?

The moments leading up were nothing out of the ordinary. Your cloaking device had to be shut off temporarily for maintenance. The damn thing had been flickering on and off and some inopportune moments to say the least. Sollux and the rest of the very few assistants he had were down in the lower levels, and other depths of the ship that you dare not venture in for fear of never returning.

While they were down there, you were stuck in the cockpit, on navigation duty. You'll admit, this wasn't really your speed. You prefer the more racy responsibilities, battle strategy, invasion and espionage planning, etc.. The fun stuff. But now you have been tasked to grubsit the radar like some kind of nobody. Seriously, there wasn't an intern that could do this?? It has to be you??

It was boring work. Important, for sure, but boring as fuck. You took _two seconds_ (okay, maybe a little more than that) to glance at your palm husk, catch up on news articles, see what the public is saying about you when you hear an earsplitting bang, metal on metal scrabbing, and almost at the same time, alarms blaring from every corner.

The hull had been penetrated.

Sollux slams into the room with you seconds later, worried first, furious second. Sollux speeds up to you grab you by the collar and yanks you out of your chair. _"_ _I gave you one fucking job!"_ You shove at him harder and get him to let go. "Yell at me later, fuckstick, we kind of have more pressing matters right now!" 

You don't waste any time barking orders, to the assistant analysts that join you and to the rest of the crew over the intercom. Another scream of metal-on-metal interrupts you mid-sentence and the radar informs you that there's another identical ship right below you, holding you in place from underneath too.  
"Shit, this is bad," Sollux says, he's right by your side, sitting and assessing the situation, pushing at all kinds of buttons and delicately dialing in at whatever he's looking at. "Something else is coming. Something really really big; it's not even a regular battleship."  
"Well what _is_ it _."_ You're gripping his shoulder as if your life depends on it, and it probably does.

  
"It's got a really big fucking gun, is what it has. I'm connecting to the main database, maybe that'll give us some idea on what..." He trails off, hands and mouth moving at almost lightning speed. What comes on screen is a whole lot of tiny text, going rapidly across the many, many screens, and above it all, a loading bar.

"That's..." He starts, "ooh my god, _oh my god, ohmigod,_ that's the _gun_." He's typing even faster now, "KK the guns charging, it's--we gotta go. Now, like right the fuck now. 'Five minutes ago' _now_."  
"Shit..." You mutter, and your fingers are anxiously tapping at the armrest by Sollux.

"Don't touch anything, Captor, that's a direct order." You hit the intercom button, getting a status report on the engineers in the lower levels on how getting you unstuck was going. They regret to inform you that not only are the harpoons stuck in your hull like a giant jagged knife but that two trolls had been impaled by newly arriving ones and the other's were quickly getting exhausted from trying to cut you loose.

As you listen to her report the situation, you bite your lip hard, and Sollux turns off the intercom. "KK I have to plug in." 

  
"Not now." You dismiss, even waving your hand at him, and he smacks in retaliation.  
"I'm not asking."  
"Now is really _not the fucking time_ , Captor, I need to think and I need you here, at the wheel, pulling us out of this as soon as--."  
"I can pull _a lot_ _harder_ if I _were_ the wheel and not just at it." His talks faster, with urgency. "This isn't--ugh, whatever. VV, I need your help with this." He's already standing up, shoving you aside, and walking towards the chamber. You try to reach for him, protest, _something_ , but he dodges effortlessly.

Hot tears start to well up in your eyes and you snatch at his arm as fast and hard as you can, managing to get him to your eye level. Without a seconds hesitation, you grab his face and kiss him. The second you do so, the tears pour down your face and smush against his cheeks.

You can't bear to pull away, but you do anyway, the shaky breaths wracking through you so raw and unbridled. At this moment, you don't care that your crew is watching, or how weird this looks out of context, or what this implies.  
All you care about is him, and how badly you wish he wasn't right, that there was no choice. You squeeze his hand in yours tightly, "come back to me, please." You hiccup out, barely audible, and he nods, pressing your foreheads together for a second before turning his back to you and continuing to face the helm.

As you watch Sollux get plugged in faster than you'd ever think it could happen, all you can think about is those articles you read. The ones about helmsman overheating and the biowires and metal melting into their flesh and either rendering them permanently attached or in need of a highly risky surgery that could result in massive blood loss, or paralysis. The thought makes your pumper twist like a wet towel, your stomach sick, and your eyes overflow even more as you sit and try not to watch the best you can.

The second he's in the system, the alarms stop. You whip around to look at him, and his eyes are open and unfocused. He looks haunted, possessed; he doesn't even blink. Without thinking, you stand up and grab a fistful of the troll who helped him's shirt. "You better disconnect him the _second_ this is over, or _so help me_." There are still tears dripping off your face, but you're so livid, you feel numb. Nothing matters to you right now except him and his safety. The troll, VV, you suppose, nods rapidly, hands up in defense, and a look of fear on their face. You throw them down and return to your best friend's side.

The going's on of the ship behind you couldn't matter less. You're afraid to touch him, not sure why, but just that you are. There's a long, unwavering silence for a long while, and then various mechanical noises happen behind you and you snap back to reality and finally tear your gaze away from Sollux.

The first thing you see is the screens that once had the other ship's date plastered all over it, now displaying a connection error. No longer were you watching a large, armored ship from the distance, nor the surface cameras capturing the ships holding you in place. Instead, you were looking at an empty, vacant space.

You never thought that would be so comforting.

What was less comforting were the **_CRIITIICAL CONDIITIION_** warnings flashing over the various parts of the virtual model displaying Omoros' damaged hull. The sight of the double i's makes your pumper twist yet again.

VV is gingerly moving you to the side, starting to switch switches, push buttons and unplug cords. You watch it all happen with no feeling in your chest anymore like your feelings box had been ripped out by how much it had felt in such a short amount of time.

When they pull the final cord, Sollux makes a loud gasp, falling against the railing that surrounds him, probably there for that explicit purpose, and then falling to the floor. You quickly go to his level, touching at his face and hands; his skin is so hot, it almost hurts to touch, but you do anyway, pulling him in for another kiss that's much shorter than the one before. He doesn't really reciprocate this one, eyes squeezed shut, and hands quickly going to cradle his head.

"I...I did it, right? You're all okay?" He looks so tired. Even more tired than when he pulls what he calls 'double overtime' when piloting and making repairs on the ship. More tired than when you were on Alternia and spent every waking hour (and then some) working on building a crummy ship and getting to this point. Even more tired than when you video called all those sweeps ago for the first time and he hadn't gotten a full morning's rest in at least 4 nights, and you yelled at him until he passed out right there on his keyboard, webcam still on. "Yeah, bud. You did it. You did so well, I'm so proud of you." you hold his face in your hands, delicate in the way you stroke his cheeks with your thumbs. Every scrap of his energy had been drained, and he couldn't even stand. Fuck, could _you??_

Turns out, you could. And you had to do the standing for both of you as you haul him up, arm slung over your shoulder, and then scoop him up in your arms like a sack of grub skulls.

You dismissed the rest of the crew, cloaking device had been fixed and put back up. You were safe another night.

The rest of that week was spent in recovery. For you, but mostly for him. Sollux slept a long time, and you didn't interrupt a second of it and didn't get up either. You wanted to be there when he woke up, wanted your face to be the first thing he saw.

And it was. And when he saw it, he smiled, lopsided and dreamy like he does every time he wakes up and sees you. Like nothing had even happened.


End file.
